504th played so far
Genre: Survival Horror/Shoot ‘Em Up
Platform: Wii
Year of Release: 2009
Developer: Visceral Games
Publisher: Electronic Arts
I remember enjoying Dead Space. It’s not a favourite, the genres the game consists of made sure of that, but it managed to strike the right balance of scares, tension and proper action.
With that in mind, I approach Dead Space: Extraction with some hesitation.ย On rails shooters feel outdated and not my sort of thing, but Dead Space feels special enough in this regard that it might pull it off.
Our Thoughts
That turned out to be a pretty fun experience – for what it was. Part of my issue with these shooters is that it’s just enemy after enemy you fire on, with not much in between. While the game did have moments where that seemed to happen a bit too much, most of the time it allowed for enough variety that it wasn’t just that. There are weapons and goodies to collect (using some separate device) and other secrets to discover, which allowed for a lot more to do. Then there was the storytelling – from early on, the story the game presents is interesting, the first mission ending with a pretty surprising twist that pretty much had me hooked right there and then.
After that it becomes a good zombie shooter, with a heavy investment in story and the world, efficiently building some characters. The treasure hunting aspect of it becomes a bit of a distraction – the image of you firing off this grappling hook thing while discussing more serious topics is comical and I can just imagine our main character staring bored around him while trying to pretend he cares.
The game looks pretty decent as well, the environments suggesting there is a lot more to find (and at times also later letting you go to those places). The monsters look appropriately weird, adding to the effects, and some of the weirder content fits well.
Final Thoughts
It won’t be my favourite game, but I feel this is the best rail shooter so far. I don’t think it’s entirely because of age, either – sure, it helps make things look a bit better and a bit more polished, but it feels like it’s trying far more to pull you into the story and keep you busy with other things. It’s more than just shooting whatever pops up in front of you, and that’s what makes the game better.
[…] a variation on the rails shooter that we covered recently on Dead Space Extraction and before that in Silent Scope and other arcade games we played at the same time. At home, the […]